Grandpa Apple's Miracle, and What Natural Farming Teaches Us

Text/ Lin Yi-lung, Xiayun Natural Living Farm
Image source/ www.cheziguchi.com/kimura_sp.htm

Japanese apple farmer Mr. Akinori Kimura, known as Grandpa Kimura, grows apples in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. In an environment where nearby apple farmers all use conventional farming methods, Kimura has grown highly praised apples through fertilizer-free and pesticide-free cultivation, and the output of nearly 600 apple trees now sells out within ten minutes of going on sale online.

Everyone says that fertilizer-free and pesticide-free cultivation is impossible, but after nearly eight years of suffering and effort with no output whatsoever, he finally succeeded, and his apples are considered a miracle. This story of foolish persistence leading to success was also widely known through NHK's "Professional Style" program, which rebroadcast it hundreds of times, making Kimura's story widely known.

Mr. Kimura became known to many people in Taiwan only after Yuan Shen published "Be a Fool at Least Once in This Life" in 2009, which tells Mr. Kimura's story. An excerpt from this book was reported by the bestselling finance magazine "Business Weekly," so many people bought the book to read.

When crops are not fertilized, besides drawing nutrients through roots growing into the soil, and besides various unknown bacteria in the soil providing nutrients through symbiosis, the most important thing is that the crops themselves carry out photosynthesis to produce nutrients. From the formula, it can be seen that without water there would be no photosynthesis. Therefore, soil moisture retention is a very important key.

Over these years, some crops have done well, while some crops have always grown very slowly or had problems, but generally they have all become more and more delicious. Most consumers like the original flavor these crops have, which is a taste unaffected by any added substances.

For us, the eight years Mr. Kimura waited have always comforted us. Fortunately, we still have a little output of carambola, as well as good pineapple, and processed products made from fruit with cosmetic defects, so we do not have to go to the city to work part-time as Mr. Kimura did during his eight years of waiting. As long as rural life is sustainable, we can continue to use Shumei Natural Farming to care for all crops, including carambola trees, as well as all fruits, vegetables, and rice.

We have always believed that fertilizer-free and pesticide-free cultivation is a correct path. Under this highest guiding principle, farmers must walk around frequently and observe frequently, to understand what help the crops need, so that they can exercise their own abilities to grow in nature. Moreover, such a growing environment is not only for crops, but also a heaven for wildflowers, wild grasses, various insects, snails, millipedes, spiders, lizards, snakes, birds, and more. Besides feeding ourselves, we humans should also preserve a space for other living beings.

My sharing in this article is limited by my writing ability and can only touch on things superficially. I hope that when the famous Mr. Akinori Kimura comes to Taiwan, this can serve as an effort to start a conversation, so that more people are willing to share their experience with fertilizer-free and pesticide-free cultivation and form a positive interaction.

In the future era, materials and fertilizers can be expected to become even more expensive. Such a farming method with a future, friendly to the Earth, friendly to farmers, and friendly to consumers, is truly worth trying for farmers who are interested, and even more worth supporting by consumers. This is not only for oneself, but also an attempt to find a way out for humanity's future.

Lin Yi-lung, Shumei Natural Farming Farmer
Blog: Xiayun Natural Living Farm
Facebook: Lin Yi-lung

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